


we met in the winter and blossomed into spring

by GLO55TOWN



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2018-12-05 01:28:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11567454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GLO55TOWN/pseuds/GLO55TOWN
Summary: 5 times they met, and 1 time they stayed together.product of my crack shipping basically





	1. i told you softly how i felt

_**One** _

 

Alm is fairly certain he's seen that Knight before, but can't seem to place his finger on it. The white armor with accents of gold match someone on the battlefield, but it's only when he dons the mask does he realize with a jolt that the Knight is Celica's brother. Alm is a little ashamed he didn't make the match sooner, but being king tends to scatter your focus.

 

Conrad doesn't notice him until Alm makes himself known and greets him with a silent nod.

 

"Why are you donning your armor?" Alm's second sentence to him - ever - is wobbly and tinged with slight uncertainty. Conrad's mask doesn't hide his gentle half smile, and Alm shuts his mouth with a faint blush staining his cheeks in embarrassment.

 

"It's better I'm not recognized as Anthiese's brother when I go to the port." he replies in a quiet voice. "I need to pick up some spices from one of the men there - I heard that blacksmiths will take spices from overseas for 3 gold."

 

"A...a safe journey to you then," Alm tells him awkwardly, and Conrad's smile, distant and kind, doesn't change. "Thank you, King Alm. Good luck on your paperwork." With a slight chuckle he strides off to the stables and Alm stands at the doorway to the armory, peeved at the impression he might have laid of himself on Conrad.

 

* * *

 

 

_**Two** _

They meet again at the dinner table, when Celica insists that he should take her place for once while she sits near Saber and Mae and Valbar. Conrad doesn't protest, instead agreeing wholeheartedly, and settling down in the seat to the right of Alm's.

 

Mycen sits across from his adopted grandson. Nobody wants to take the king's place at the head of the table.

 

They make small talk about the weather, and the ports, and how the kingdom fares. In truth Conrad is an amazing asset, briefing the castle-locked King on things he could (should) change and bring up during council meetings. And then when topics have run dry, they talk about themselves. Alm learns that Conrad prefers sweet foods in comparison to his taste for meat, and that his favorite color is the flush of orange-red that weaves through Celica's hair. He learns that the knight used to be afraid of the dark and night and that when he was young and afraid Celica would comfort him. He learns, with some surprise, that Conrad is older than himself by three years, that he is a writer and debater at heart, and that he didn't want a place in this war.

 

Well, Alm thinks, neither did he.

 

* * *

 

_**Three** _

 

The third time they talk about Celica.

 

Both are sitting in the Zofian royal library, poring over ancient texts Lima IV was too ignorant to pay attention to, embracing the feeling of the crackling parchment and enveloping themselves in the smell of books. They are so engrossed in their own little world that neither notices the other until they (quite literally) butt heads.

 

Wincing and murmuring out apologies, they actually pay attention to the path before them and this time it is Conrad who strikes up the conversation.

 

"What was it like in your youth?" The question is abrupt, strange, and Alm finds himself more than happy to oblige the knight.

 

"Carefree and innocent. Until Slayde found us in the woods," Alm easily replies, pausing in flipping the pages of the book. "Then Celica - er, Anthiese - left and Sir Mycen began to teach us swordplay." The words sit, stewing in the air, until Conrad speaks again. Alm notes offhandedly how prettily his dark red-brown hair contrasts against his pale white skin.

  
"When we were young, Anthiese and I lived in a villa the king made for a while. Til' Desaix murdered our father, of course, and I was spirited away to the Sage's Hamlet. I suppose that's when Anthiese joined you in Ram Village."

 

"She was a very sad girl when she first came," Alm recalls. "She cried at night in her sleep, and grandfather - I mean, Sir Mycen - always came to comfort her. I didn't know how to. I didn't even know why she was crying." Surprise flickers on Conrad's face.

 

"Anthiese, crying?"

  
"Yes, quite strange now, eh? Celica got better after a couple weeks and she began to play with us. It was a time I would like to keep locked in my memory." Conrad smiles sadly at those words.

 

"I as well."

 

* * *

 

_**Four** _

 

The fourth time, Conrad catches Alm in the garden singing. It's a song he's now quite familiar with - he can't go to a tavern to rest without hearing someone humming the song, at least. But it's strange to hear from the Hero-King's lips. There's a kind of melody that he's drawn to, and nobody else can replicate it.

 

Alm's voice dies as Conrad approaches.

 

" _The Jasper lion will run_ ," the knight supplies, and Alm wrinkles his nose. "I don't quite feel comfortable with that part. Before leaving, Silque told me that she was referencing my lead in the deicide, but..."

  
"Silque is the priestess who completed the song, yes?" Alm nods in confirmation, and lapses into silence again, starting at the sparse flowers that speckle the once magnificent garden.

 

" _On the wild at first light, the Jasper lion will run_ ," Conrad begins to sing. " _Hark an anthem he drums, can you hear?_ " Somewhat reluctantly Alm joins in once more.

 

" _The people, fresh from the night, rise and listen as one. The land that they were promised is near,_ " Conrad stops rather abruptly, tilting his head and wondering, wondering why these lyrics resonate with the whole of Valentia, wondering how this young man on only 18 is brave enough to take the mantle of Hero-King and rebuild the nations as one.

 

* * *

 

_**Five** _

 

They don't speak for almost a year after the chance meeting in the garden. Alm is slowly drowning in the amount of work he needs to do, nobles to meet, and councils to attend, while Conrad is busy playing messenger and training his skill with the quill instead.

 

When they cross paths again Conrad marvels at how that once awkward boy of 18 now seems to be more confident and comfortable with his position.

 

"I read your book," is the first thing he hears Alm say to him after a year. "It was quite enlightening." Conrad chuckles.

 

"Straight to business. But thank you. Please expect more in the future."

 

"I will," the king replies solemnly, his small smile betraying the slightest hint of emotion.

 

They decide to sit down and talk for a while. Occasionally Celica joins their conversation before running off to talk with her other friends. Alm has been busy, and compared to Conrad's troubles, he seems to have some kind of god-like work ethic. He's had 19 years of royal lessons shoved down his throat in one year, and half that time to learn and remember all the lords, ladies, and how to appeal to them. He laughs off finding someone to court when Conrad asks if he's even found anyone attractive.

 

Though he answers with an enigmatic yes and a smile that makes his heart lurch for an odd reason that the Knight himself has no idea of.

 

 

 


	2. and this time the flowers bloomed

Conrad stares dully up at the altar as others begin to fill the massive hall. He has never been to a wedding and knows that the gloomy way he is acting must be inappropriate, but he can't help but feel that way.

 

Though his mask is on so nobody can see anything save the downwards curve of his lips. A hand on his arm causes him to jolt and turn.

 

"Celica wanted me to tell you to follow your heart." It's Mae, Celica's....well, he knows Celica thinks of her than more than just a friend. Looks like he isn't the only one suffering today.

 

"Tell her I will," he replies hoarsely, and that's when he knows Mae understands - their plight is the same, after all. She nods and slowly walks away. The bridesmaids need to be ready for the wedding, after all.

 

He sits in silence as people take their seats. The ceremony begins and a hush descends upon the crowd. Conrad drowns out everything until he sees Alm and Celica standing at the very end of the long hall. His breaths catches and he thinks that fate has left him one last cruel turn. It is nothing Mila's Turnwheel can fix.

 

"...Speak now or forever hold your peace," he hears Nomah say almost silently, and Conrad immediately recalls what both Celica and Halcyon asked of him.

 

"I object," he rises, striding forth to stand in the middle of the hall. Murmurs and gasps echo through the hall, and the people recoil from him. _Who is the masked man, why doesn't he take it off, why would he object this marriage, how rude -_

 

"Conrad?" Alm and Celica are both astonished and then all the lords and ladies attending are finally privy to his identity. The murmurs increase, and he hears the whispers, the disbelief that  _the prince is alive after all this time it can't be him Desaix burned him with the rest of the villa_ , but it turns to a silent tension.

 

"Why do you object?" Nomah interrupts it, like slicing a knife through a thick slab of meat. "They do not truly love each other," he replies, his words carrying through the hall. "Look now. Princess Anthiese holds more affection for her bridesmaid." He feels slightly guilty to reveal her "secret" but if things work out correctly then she'll be thanking him instead.

 

"I-it's true," Celica answers his call and he sighs internally in relief. "Mae and Boey are my beloved," she says, a little stronger now, and her face is set in pride. "And I would give the world over for them if they wanted." Nomah smiles, and Conrad is shocked by the relief and pride that echoes across his face as well.

 

Conrad only wants the best for his little sister, after all. As it is, fate still has him in its cruel grasp. "I suppose then this wedding shall be held another time." The priest chuckles lightheartedly and the lords and ladies begin to disperse, some fuming and others delighted at the turn of events.

 

Conrad moves to the altar to see Celica happily sandwiched between a hug with Mae and Boey.

 

"Thanks, Prince Conrad," Boey smiles at him, giddiness in his voice, and the most he can do is afford a melancholy smile back. "Of course."

 

"...Conrad..." Ah, that voice. "Alm," he greets, trying to keep his voice impassive, his broiling emotions hidden. "Conrad, thank you." The relief in Alm's voice is all too much and he turns away, fingers digging into his palm.

 

"Conrad, look at me, please," the king asks, and Conrad shakes his head.

 

"That I cannot do," he says, and he hates how wobbly his voice is.

 

"Conrad," this time it's Celica's voice calling to him. "Please."

 

"..." He turns back to Alm and realizes the other has gotten much, much closer. He's staring down at the king with a lump in his throat.

 

"...you are my beloved, and I would give the world over for you if you wanted." He echoes Celica's words earlier and Conrad can't do anything but smile when their lips meet.


	3. ???

uh hey y'all why does this have 42 kudos?? do...do you need me to write more crackfic to satisfy your crackship needs?? im so confused but tHANKS YALL


	4. !!!

guess who's planning out another almrad (conalm? pinecone? tree?) book?? this author! might take a while but it'll be a thing


End file.
